Police Crack Down on Banned Songs

Chinese military patrol the streets in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on March 15, 2008 after violent protests.

AFP

Public security authorities in Tibet have recently banned songs deemed to be “reactionary” and are detaining young Tibetans found in possession of the songs on their mobile phones, according to sources in Tibet.

More than 20 young Tibetans have been rounded up for downloading the songs since a “Strike Hard” campaign was launched this winter in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), sources told RFA.

“Voice of Unity,” “My Lama,” “I Miss the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars” are among the titles of the prohibited songs, sources said.

“Yes, it’s true. ‘Voice of Unity’ is one of the banned songs,” a Tibetan identifying himself as Tenzin said.

The punishment can be severe as the authorities step up their crackdown in the region.

“If someone has this song [on their mobile phone], they are detained, jailed from 10 to 15 days, heavily fined, and even brutally beaten.”

“Chinese authorities are coming down very hard now on Tibetans,” Tenzin added.

“They target Tibetans coming from Kham and Amdo and check to see if they have permits to stay in Lhasa,” the regional capital, he continued.

“They confiscate mobile phones from young Tibetans and open them, and if they hear songs sung by singers like Kunga in Tibet, or by singers in exile, they detain them.”

Fresh graduates

The authorities have deployed fresh graduates from the police academies to round up those with the songs, guaranteeing the graduates hiring in the future if they performed their duties well.

"These policemen crack down on Tibetans ruthlessly,” Tenzin said.

He said that the lyrics of the songs only contained themes of unity among Tibetans "and are not a protest against the government.”

Another caller from Tibet, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “Yesterday, I went to a restaurant and heard one man ask another, ‘Where have you been?’, to which his friend replied, ‘I was in Drapchi prison for 15 days for possessing banned songs.’”